Finding the "Missed 3 Million" TB Cases

Next Monday, March 24, is World TB Day, a time when the global health community focuses much-needed attention on a deadly airborne disease that is thriving in some of world’s poorest places. This year, the World Health Organization and Stop TB Partnership are calling attention to the three million people living with TB who are “missed” by health systems -- families mired in poverty, refugees, migrant workers and many others. These people don’t receive the care they need and continue to spread TB unchecked.

If we’re going to get TB under control, finding these patients, treating them and curing them must be a top priority. Our latest effort through the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership aims to do precisely this with a focus on South Africa -- where cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) doubled between 2007 and 2012 and countless others are “missed”.

With a United Way Worldwide grant made on behalf of the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation and the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, the Donald Woods Foundation has just announced that it will be working closely with the South African government to expand its national initiative to decentralize MDR-TB treatment.

To find out more about what steps are being taken to combat TB, please visit our blog.